PropertyOfZack is glad to welcome Paul Leavitt as the new producer featured in our Producer’s Corner feature. Paul has done with Circa Survive, Senses Fail, All Time Low, and The Dangerous Summer, among many others. Paul and I discussed his work, production techniques, thoughts on new technologies in the music industry, and more. Read up and enjoy!

Paul, for those who don’t know what exactly you do and just who you’ve done it with, could you go ahead and introduce yourself and give a brief overview about some of the bands you’ve worked with? 
Hey! I’m Paul Leavitt and I produce and record bands out of my studio in Baltimore Maryland. I generally stick in the rock realm, working with heavier bands like Darkest Hour to poppier bands like All Time Low

Many know you from your continuous work with All Time Low and The Dangerous Summer. Is there a comfort to working with certain bands repeatedly?
I love working with bands repeatedly! Sometimes I worry that we’ll both kinda run out of ideas or get too comfortable working together but that hasn’t happened yet (knock on wood) The new Dangerous Summer we just finished is amazing and I think it really helped that we did it together again, we have all gotten better at what we do since the last record and all shared the same vision for this one.

Do you think that there’s a certain advantage on the side of bands for working with a producer multiple times? And do you think that working with the same group repeatedly can inhibit progress for a band’s growth musically?
I think if a band makes an amazing record with someone and they have a good experience doing it then why not go back for the next record. I worked with All time low on 4 records (2 of which most people probably haven’t heard) and each one was better and better, now they are headed more in a direction that I wouldn’t be the best choice for and it seems like the people they have been working with for the last couple have been a great fit. On the other hand Senses Fail worked with a few different producers before they did a record with Brian McTernan and since working with him have done 3 LP’s with him that I think are all great! I think once you just get all the right people matched up everyone grows between records, producers and bands, so your not just going to be doing the same thing every time.

You were Brian McTernan’s assistant for a few years and worked on a few harder records that he did like Senses Fail’s Still Searching and Circa Survive’s On Letting Go. Many producers start under the wing of another, but what are some of the bigger things you learned from Brian?
I actually started recording in 1998 and I think I met Brian around 2005 and started doing some pro tools work for him. Since then we have become great friends and he actually found me a studio space in a building connected to his and found the house I ended up buying and has helped me a ton just with building my business. Last year I moved to a new studio spot so I’m a little bummed that I’m not next door anymore but I’m only like 3 minutes away. Working on projects and just getting advice from him helped me a lot, we check out each others mixes a lot and its just cool to have someone close by that works on a similar style as I do. I’d say some of the bigger things I have learned from him were/are that:

A)  I needed to add more low end to my guitars
B) If I think a change to a song is amazing but everyone else disagrees, than I am probably wrong. In the end it’s about what the band wants and if I try and force a change on them its just going to end up bad.
C) Making mic pres distort and overcompressing certain things sounds awesome

I definitely think that having other friends that are producers as well is a great help for anyone who wants to get into this business.

Since working on your own you have sort of switched to the poppier side of this scene with bands like All Time Low. Do you like working with this area of the genre better?
When I first started out I pretty much did punk music and ska, then there was a screamo phase for about a year… These days I do a pretty good mix of the poppier stuff and indie stuff and some heavier stuff, it just seems the poppier stuff gets more exposure. I like to work with almost anything that has rock roots to it. I’ve played drums and guitar in various bands throughout the years so I just love getting drum and guitar sounds. Punchy drums and distorted guitars just sound awesome together! If I did just the poppy stuff all the time I would probably go nuts so it’s great to have some screamy metal once in a while.

That being said, what have been some of your favorite records to work on in your years of producing and mixing?
There are too many to name! Each record is a different experience. Dangerous Summer is definitely one of the bands I get excited for every record. Also Conditions has been recording with me for years now and they are finally starting to get some great tours and exposure, I keep in touch with those guys and its great to see them growing as a band. I could go on and on about every band and what was great about doing their record but I think I would get carpel tunnel.
The Dangerous Summer’s Reach For The Sun really grew to an unexpected level and has been cherished as a favorite in this area of music since its release. Obviously bands like All Time Low that you’ve worked with are a little bit bigger, but how has it been for you watching these guys blow up from Reach For The Sun over the past few years?
It’s been great! I started recording those guys in my mom’s basement when they were like 15 and their moms were driving them over. AJ has turned into an amazing singer and everyone in the band are just night and day better musicians and songwriters now. It’s great to see them getting on great tours and heading overseas for tours, and all the positive feedback RFTS has gotten.

The band hit the studio with you beginning in late-2010 to record the follow up to the record. It took a little longer than everyone hoped to complete, but how was your time in there with them this go-around?
This time was a littttttttle crazy… They came in with a good amount of the music written but Tyler had left the band so we had Spencer Peterson (ex Hidden in plain view, currently in Black Cards) fly up and play on the record. He is a great drummer and all the drums are totally natural on the record, none of the usual quantizing and triggering. So we got all the arrangements worked out over the course of a week or so and then Spencer knocked out all the drums. We got all Cody’s guitars tracked and started to do vocals but AJ had kinda hit a wall with the vocals and was freaking out a bit. They had some tour obligations so they brought a laptop on tour to demo vocals and when they were home AJ basically camped out at the studio every night demoing stuff. Everyone was going kinda crazy trying to get the record done. Once vocals were written we would end up changing keys of the songs to make the melodies more exciting so we had to redo a lot of the guitars and bass but in the end I think the record came out amazing and is a big step up from RFTS. When it was finally finished we were all just so excited about how it came out that the 4 months of craziness was just totally worth it!

What kind of equipment do you use in the studio and what are some of your favorite go-to tricks that you’re willing to reveal?
Well I have a trident series 70 console that I love the pres and eq’s on. That gets used on most of the drum tracks and a lot of the guitar tracks. I used to mix records on that but these days I just mix in pro tools, its so much easier to tweak a mix a week after your done than to leave all your stuff setup on a console, and I don’t think the sonic differences outweigh the benefits of mixing in the computer. I do the majority of my compressing and eq’ing with outboard gear when I’m recording the tracks anyways that I don’t end up using a ton of plugins when I mix. As far as go to tricks, nothing too special. Vocals I like to run through multiple compressors, generally one to smooth them out and another to add some edge to them. Some of my new favorite things are the API 2500 compressor (amazing on kick and snare) and the Yamaha Subkick (wish I had one years ago) 

What would you say has changed within the band that you saw on this release?
I’d say the writing is a little more mature and some of the songs are definitely darker. Also AJ’s vocals have gotten more aggressive sounding, which I love. He has a very unique voice. We also made a much more raw record than RFTS was, I hope everyone is into it as much as we all are!

AJ Perdomo of the band has said that he feels like part of the family when he’s with your family and in your studio. Is that the kind of connection what keeps you pushing forward in the industry today among your artists?
AJ is an awesome dude. I keep in touch with a lot of my clients. It’s a pretty cool job when you can have people come in that you’ve never met and end up hanging out with them and becoming friends. I don’t think I could do this job if I didn’t connect with the bands I was recording.

Some producers are excited by the fact that it’s becoming increasingly easy for bands to record their own music, but many producers also see that as a threat. What are your thoughts on self-recording and how they may or may not interfere with your job down the line?
I don’t see it as a threat per say, I mean I started my career by self recording my old bands. For some bands I think it is a great option and some people do a really good job. Other bands I think its helps a lot to have the guidance of a producer and someone who can take what you have in your head and get it down how you envision it. A lot of bands benefit from having someone who has done a lot of records give input on their songs, there may be a song your not %100 into but just cant figure out why and the producer will say “what if we try this here” and then you’ll be like “that’s it!” and it ends up as one of your favorite songs. I also enjoy mixing stuff that other people record so that’s a great option for a band that maybe can’t afford to do a whole record with a producer to still get some additional input and hopefully a better sounding finished product in the end.

Most people have concerns with record labels selling less music, but how do you handle decreased sales in music as the producer of an album? How does that affect what you’re able to do?
I don’t really do a ton of label stuff these days, most bands I work with fund the projects themselves and end up making all their money back selling cd’s on their own at shows and through iTunes. The days of making tons of money in royalties are definitely ending and label budgets have been getting lower and lower. The only effect its really had on me is that label projects that I’d be really stoked to do the big guys will end up just doing for less money than normal since no one is really dropping $400k on records anymore. That being said I really like doing unsigned bands and being able to help them get a great sounding product to be able to get their name out there with. 

With the industry struggling how it is, are you open to working with bands or artists who may not seem very talented to you or are out of your comfortable genre of music if they’re willing to pay higher values for production? Especially if that means that you’ll be able to work with bands that you love for less money?
I don’t really work with bands that I’m not into. If I can’t get into the music then I probably won’t do a very good job on the recording and that’s not fair to anyone. I will usually suggest other people I know that would be better suited to work with whatever style the band is. With my new studio my overhead is lower so I can usually work with a bands budget and still get all my bills paid! Owning a studio is not cheap thought, especially when then bands live there too. 
Have you ever had difficult selecting whom to work with out of situations like these?
Not really, I have been pretty lucky in the sense that bands that hit me up usually fall into a style that I like to work with.

Kickstarter is a tool that many bands have been using to raise money for the recording process to be able to work with producers of their choosing. Do you think it’s right for bands to ask their fans for money, especially when they can’t guarantee happiness with their final product?
Hm, I’ve never really thought about it. I think if fans are willing to help a band out like that then there is probably a good chance that the band is good and will make a great record, but what do I know!

Does it matter to you that the money isn’t coming directly from the band or label’s pocket with services like these? 
If a band truly can’t get up enough money to make a record I don’t really see a problem in using something like that. If they are hardworking and just need some extra cash I think its cool fans are willing to help out. On the other hand if a band is just being lazy and asking people to give money cause they don’t feel like working for it that’s pretty shitty…

What about your thoughts more in general? As already mentioned, you’ve been around for quite some time and have seen a great deal of changes in the industry. What are your thoughts on the present and future?
I have seen a lot of changes. Bands that are amazing don’t get signed, bands that have some stupid gimmick and terrible music do get signed… Some of the stuff I see out there these days I just can’t believe people buy. Also everyone edits the crap out of recordings these days so much stuff just sounds unnatural, whether it be tuned vocals, quantized drums, or copying and pasting every part. Not that I’m not guilty of doing those things sometimes but I try and get the best performance possible before falling back on the computer to fix stuff.

What else are you currently working on that you’re allowed to discuss? 
Right now I’m finishing up this band “Brighter Than A Thousand Suns” They have a female screamer (who is amazing) and she and the bassist also sing. It’s really awesome. “Avian Sunrise” is another good one I just finished up, also a couple Australian bands were over here “For Our Hero” and “Heroes for Hire” both great! Oh and I also mixed the new “This Time Next Year” record that comes out soonish I believe, great pop punk!  
 
Are there any other new projects on the way that you’re extremely excited for? 
I can’t even think of what’s coming up off the top of my head.. I’m going to Australia in a couple weeks to do a record for this band “Fahrenheit 43” which from the demos should be awesome. 
 
Thank you so much for your time, is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks for the interview and sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes! Also don’t go to a recording school, they are a total waste of money, if you want to get into the recording field hit up someone that you like as a producer/engineer and see if they would be willing to have you as in intern. You will learn a lot more by doing that and just recording bands on your own than a school can ever teach you. Everything that made my recordings sound how they sound was from trial and error or someone I respected showing me a technique.